Art is food for the soul, but did you know that children learning art actually achieve real benefits? There are a lot of theories about the benefits of learning art. It does help with the mental, emotional, and psychological development. It enhances the sense of creativity and independence in a child and helps him to reach its potential. In addition to improving the neurological and motor skills, art has a lot of positive effects on a child’s character and personality. In this article, we will highlight the main benefits of learning art for children and young people.
1. Art promotes creativity
Art allows children to process the world around them and express their interpretations in a creative way. Given the same topic, no 2 children will come up with the same painting or art piece. In art, there is no right or wrong. Your child’s opinion and feeling will be unique and highly appreciated in an art class. Your child may be asked to act out a situation in a drama class and again he will have to choose the words and facial expressions to act. When your child is encouraged to think and act out of the box, this skill will come naturally to them in other situations and will help them in the future.
2. Art promotes confidence
Children who participate in drama classes get the chance to stand in front of an audience to deliver a message. It allows them to overcome their fear of facing strangers and to gain confidence. Rehearsals are also great in training children to overcome their fears and learn from their mistakes through guidance and observation of others. Other forms of art like music and painting also give the child a chance to take pride in their work, show off their talent and talk about it to others.
3. Art promotes problem solving skill
Art is about creating something out of nothing. A child will ask himself how to express a certain feeling through a dance or a facial expression, how to bring a lifeless piece of clay into life by creating a sculpture and how to use their feelings to create a piece of music that would tell a story. All these problem solving skills will benefit the child in his future career and life.
4. Art promotes patience and determination
Children who practice ballet or learn a new music instrument learn how hard and much time it takes to achieve a slight progress. The only way to master the dance or the instrument is through continuous practice. This is a skill that children learn as they learn art. It is highly important in a competitive world when you are required to stay patient and never give up in order to learn new skills.
5. Art promotes accountability
Through art, children realise that their actions affect others. They become accountable for their actions and mistakes. Through dance recitals or drama rehearsals, children can see how the overall performance is affected when they are not ready or doing their best. This is very important in the development of an adult who is responsible for his actions, ready to move on and learn from them.
6. Art promotes focus on team work
Through art, children realise the importance of team work that involves a lot of focus and concentration. Art trains children not just to focus on themselves but also on others so that the whole performance works out. Even in individual art work, art helps children to pay attention to different details. Children who learn art can usually pay attention to more details in different aspects in their lives as they grow up.
7. Art promotes the ability to give and receive positive feedback
Children learn that receiving and giving positive feedback is an essential way of learning art. Art helps children to understand that giving and receiving feedback is a normal part of the learning process. It is not something to be upset about. They also learn that there is no perfection but that people can do their best.
Children will understand that receiving constructive and positive feedback is a chance to learn. The goal is to help the child improve his skills and work on them in order to succeed. Different types of feedback are given at different stages of art creation and children grow up appreciating the importance and significance of feedback.
8. Art promotes dedication
Children who practice art understand that practice makes perfect. The children understand that the result of practice and effort is an accomplished piece of art. They learn to appreciate dedication and discipline. They develop habits like keeping their tools, cleaning them, arriving to rehearsals ready and on time and appreciating the efforts of others. They grow up to become adults who don’t take things lightly.
Choosing the right art centre
It is important to select an art centre that does not limit the creativity potential of students to reap the above benefits. Children learn more from problem solving than from instruction. It is crucial that an art centre provides a platform where children can engage in experimental art learning. There should also be a proper curriculum in place to ensure they receive consistent and quality art education while enjoying the process.
Also READ: Best martial arts classes for kids in Singapore!
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